se.

But the old books went and the new ones came, and Miss Kilrain came with
them.

She came in mincingly on the balls of her feet the opening day of
school, and took her place on the rostrum of the chapel with The
Faculty. Once one would have said with "the teachers," but in the High
School one knew them as The Faculty. Miss Kilrain took her place with
them, but she was not of them; the High School populace, gazing up from
the groundling's point of view, in serried ranks below, felt that. It
was as though The Faculty closed in upon themselves and left Miss
Kilrain, with her Modern Methods, outside and alone.

But Miss Kilrain showed a proper spirit, and proceeded to form her
intimacies elsewhere; Miss Kilrain grew quite intimate and friendly with
certain of the girls.

And now her name had come up for honorary membership in the Platonian
Society.

"We've always extended it to The Faculty," a member reminded them.

"Besides, she won't bother us," remarked another. "They never come."

Miss Kilrain was accorded the honour.

But she surprised them. She did come; she came tripping up on the balls
of her feet the very next Friday. They heard her deprecating little
cough as she came up the stairs. When one was little, one had played
"Let's pretend." But in the full illusion of the playing, if grown-up
people had appeared, the play stopped--short.

It was like that, now--the silence.

"Oh," said Miss Kilrain, in the doorway, "go on, or I'll go away."

They went on lamely enough, but they never went on again. Miss Kilrain,
ever after, went on for them, and perforce, they followed.

But to-day they went on. The secretary had been reading a communication.
It was from the Literary Society of the Boy's High School, proposing a
debate between the two; it was signed by the secretary, who chanced to
be a boy whose name was Chester.

Miss MacLauren, in spite of herself, grew red; she had been talking
about the Platonians and their debates with him quite recently.

The effect of the note upon the Platonians was visible. A tremendous
fluttering agitated the members. It was a proposition calculated to
agitate them.

Rosalie was on that side opposed to the matter. Why was obvious, for
Rosalie preferred to shine before boys, and she would not shine in
debate.

Hattie was warmly in favour of it, for she was one who would shine.

Miss MacLauren did not express herself, but when it came to the vote,
Miss MacLauren said "